Electrode and method for measuring muscle activity in the pharyngeal airways

Abstract

An electrode for placement in a human mouth for the measurement of muscle activity in the pharyngeal airway. The electrode includes at least one leg extending from a planer face so as to make electrical contact with the genioglossus muscle. The electrode permits a reduction in the number of patients requiring overnight polysomnography to prediagnose people with sleep apnea.

What I claim is:  
     
       1. An electrode for measuring muscle activity in the pharyngeal airways comprising: 
       an electrode body for placement in a human mouth, the body having a face defining a plane, and at least one leg extending from the face, the leg having an electrical contact such that, when the electrode body is placed in the mouth, the contact is in communication with the genioglossus muscle without fixation of the body to teeth.  
     
     
       2. An electrode according to  claim 1 , wherein the body is formed from a biologically inert material. 
     
     
       3. An electrode according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one leg is between 2 mm and 8 mm in length. 
     
     
       4. An electrode according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one leg extends from the face at a substantially 90 degree angle. 
     
     
       5. An electrode according to  claim 1 , wherein the body has four legs, the four legs each extending from the face at substantially 90 degree angles such that the legs form the vertices of a square. 
     
     
       6. An electrode according to  claim 1 , wherein the body has at least two legs and is bifurcated such that each part of the body has one leg which can be placed on each side of a frenum in a human mouth. 
     
     
       7. An electrode according to  claim 6 , wherein the at least two legs each extend from the face at substantially 90 degree angles. 
     
     
       8. An electrode according to  claim 7 , wherein the body is formed into a crescent contour. 
     
     
       9. An electrode according to  claim 8 , wherein the body measures between 15 mm and 35 mm in a vertical plane and between 5 and 25 mm in a horizontal plane. 
     
     
       10. A method for diagnosing sleep apnea comprising: 
       placing an electrode having an electrode body in a patient's mouth, the body having a face defining a plane, and at least one leg extending from the face, the leg having an electrical contact such that, when the electrode body is placed in the mouth, the contact is in communication with the genioglossus muscle;  
       recording signals received from the electrode; and  
       comparing the signals to signals obtained from people without sleep apnea.  
     
     
       11. A method according to  claim 10 , wherein the signals are compared to signals taken from the same patient at a different session and further comprising: 
       amplifying the signals;  
       filtering the signals;  
       integrating the signals; and  
       feeding the results into a computer for analysis.  
     
     
       12. A method according to  claim 11 , wherein the signals are filtered between 50 Hz and 200 Hz. 
     
     
       13. A method according to  claim 12  wherein, the signals are integrated on a moving time average basis with a time constant of 100 ms. 
     
     
       14. An apparatus for diagnosing sleep apnea comprising: 
       an electrode having an electrode body for placement in a patient's mouth, the body having a face defining a plane, and at least one leg extending from the face, the leg having an electrical contact such that, when the electrode body is placed in the mouth, the contact is in communication with the genioglossus muscle without fixation of the body to teeth;  
       an amplifier in electrical communication with the electrode to receive EMG signals from the electrode;  
       a signal filter in electrical communication with the amplifier;  
       a rectifier in electrical communication with the filter such that the rectifier receives the filtered signal; and  
       a signal integrator in electrical communication with the rectifier whereby the rectified signal is integrated on a moving time average basis.  
     
     
       15. An apparatus according to  claim 14 , wherein the amplified signal is filtered between 50 Hz and 200 Hz. 
     
     
       16. An apparatus according to  claim 14 , wherein the rectified signal is integrated on a moving time average basis with a time constant of 100 ms. 
     
     
       17. An electrode according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one leg is substantially cylindrical and includes a radius such that a substantial portion of electromagnetic energy measured by the electrode is derived from an area of the mouth within the radius. 
     
     
       18. An electrode according to  claim 14 , wherein the at least one leg is substantially cylindrical and includes a radius such that a substantial portion of electromagnetic energy measured by the electrode is derived from an area within the radius.